Scar's story
by AceM
Summary: "Long live the king!" In fact, Mufasa DOES live long- he survives the fall. Now he has the duty to punish his little brother, but the animals are shocked when he doesn't speak the death penalty or banishment. Simba asks him why he was so lenient, and Mufasa tells him the story of Scar's childhood to help him understand Scar's hatred.
1. Chapter 1

_"Long live the king!" _The voice haunted Mufasa in his dreams, nearly scaring him to death.

So dark, so resolute...so _unfamiliar._

He knew that his brother could be difficult sometimes, he knew that his brother was grumpy, he knew that his brother had always wanted to be king... but he never would have thought that he was able to do something like this.

Lazily Mufasa opened one eye, hoping he could take his mind off what had happened two days before in the gorge.

His son, Simba, lay beside him and gave him a worried look. "Are you okay?" Mufasa tried to smile. "Yes, I'm just a little exhausted and my legs still hurt as hell. And you?" He knew that Simba was still in shock, but he was hiding it perfectly.

"Yeah, me too... I... I never would have thought uncle Scar was able to do something like that. What are you gonna do with him?" Mufasa closed his eyes to think for a second. His brother was a traitor- he had nearly killed him by pushing him in that gorge with the herd of wildebeest instead of helping him.

_Long live the king. _

At the moment he was in his own cave under the Pride Rock, being guarded by four lionesses in case he wanted to flee.

"You'll see. I'm gonna pronounce the sentence today. Zazu!"

A blue parrot came into the cave. "Yes, Your Majesty?"

"Tell the pride to gather at the Pride Rock. And they should bring Scar with them!"

"Of course, Your Majesty." Zazu took a bow, obviously gleeful that Scar would get his well earned punishment now.

The news that the king had made a decision made a circuit, and soon not only the lionesses were gathered at the Pride Rock, but also all the other animals that lived here: antelopes, wildebeests, rhinos, giraffes... and they all looked scornful down at Scar who just made his way out of his cave.

He looked the worse for wear: his fur and mane were ruffled- usually he was fussy about his body care. On his flanks there were serveral wounds, probably inflicted by the lionesses.

He also looked like he hadn't gotten a good meal in weeks- Scar had always been skinny, but now Mufasa could see his ribs standing out- it looked unhealthy. He felt a wave of sympathy for his brother. _Oh, Scar... my poor little brother. You used to be such a vivid little cub... what happened to you?_

Mufasa tried to get up, and his mate Sarabi and another lioness helped him.

His left fore- and right hindpaw were broken.

He was lucky, though- if he hadn't landed on that ledge, he would be dead by now.

Scar was standing in front of the Pride Rock and tried to keep a straight, unimpressed face, but Mufasa could smell his fear.

"Scar," he said loudly, trying to keep his voice deep and formidable, "you know why youre here. Do you have to say something in your mitigation?"

Scar took a deep breath, thinking of what he could say. But nothing seemed to come to his mind, so he just said: "No."

Of course the dark lion knew that he had screwed up, and there was nothing he could say that would change that.

"So be it. I have already decided the verdict."

There were serveral shouts from the crowd.

"Kill him!"

"Blind him!"

"Banish him!"

Scar didn't even flinch at all those possibilities. Still unimpressed, he looked up at Mufasa.

"So?"

Mufasa had to admit he admired his courage.

"The verdict is... you'll be jailed in your cave for one year. Twice a day you will get something to eat and to drink.  
After that, I never want to see you talking to Simba again. You will never even go into the direction of the elephant graveyard, you will never talk to the hyenas again, you will hunt your own food and you will stay away from the lionesses." Scar blinked in surprise, while the animals protested vociferously.

"Mufasa," Sarabi said, surprised. "Thats it? He's tried to kill you!"

"He won't do it again," Mufasa said, still looking at his brother. The shouts of the animals grew louder and louder, and two rhinos attempted to attack Scar, but stopped when Mufasa yelled: "_Silence!"_

Suddenly it was quiet again.

Then Scar said the only thing he could think of. "What... what's with Zira?" "Huh?"

Mufasa saw a young lioness with a hole in her left ear and dark sandy fur looking at him hopefully.

"Do... do I have to stay away from her, too?" "I was already lenient enough with you, Scar. If anyone sees you even near her, he's allowed to kill you- and small animals like birds have the obligation to tell me when they see you impinging one of my rules!" Scar took a little bow.

"Too merciful, Your Majesty." The animals started protesting again when four lionesses brought Scar back to his cave, and Zazu sat down on Mufasas's shoulder with a disappointed look.

"It actually was too merciful," he scolded, but quickly fell silent when Mufasa looked at him with ill-concealed anger.

"It's my choice. He's my brother! I.. what he has done was terrible, Simba and I nearly died, but I wouldn't be better than him if I gave him death penalty or something like this, and that's it. I don't want to hear about it anymore!"

Two weeks later Mufasa was able to walk again- Rafiki, the old baboon, had given him some herbs for the pain and a salve which had effected miracles.

Now he was sitting in Scar's cave with the four lionesses protecting him.

"Talk to me, Scar," he demanded, but his brother, now even skinnier and more neglected, remained silent.

"Why was it so important to you to be king that you even took the risk of killing your own brother and nephew?"

Scar frowned. "You know why," he finally said.

Yes. Mufasa knew it.

And he also knew that it was partly his fault. He had turned his vivid, happy and playful little brother into a cold sarcastic killer.

"Why don't you just start yelling at me?", Scar asked. "Why don't you kill me?"

"Because youre my brother."

"I've tried to kill you." Scar huffed scornfully. "And you act like youre not even mad at me. That makes you a weak king, Mufasa."

"That makes me a way too kind king. You should be thankful, Taka." The name slipped out of his mouth before he could prevent it.

"What did you just call me?" Scar got up and ran square to Mufasa.

The lionesses started roaring and blocked his way.

"I should go now, brother," Mufasa said sadly.

That night Mufasa and Simba went to the old peaceful place with the fragrant grass to watch the stars just like they had done it every evening before the incident in the gorge.

"I have missed this place so much," Mufasa said while inhaling the fresh air.

"Yeah, me too," Simba said, but he didn't sound really happy.

"What's wrong, son?"

"It's... uncle Scar was like my best friend, you know? Of course there were also you and Nala and mom, but when you and the others didn't have time for me Scar was always there for me... he told me funny stories and jokes and told me about all the cool places in the Pride Land... I just can't believe he would do something like that! I feel so betrayed..."

"I know." But Mufasa had seen that coming for a long time.

"Why haven't you killed him, dad?"

"Because he's family."

"But you nearly died!" Mufasa saw his son tearing up a little and it nearly broke his heart. "When you die I won't have a father anymore!  
I- I can't even think of that! I don't know what I would do without you!" Mufasa sighed. "Simba, I have already explained it to you: I will die some day, and then you will become king." "Sure, but not so _early!" _

"I know what you mean," Mufasa said thoughtful. "So you think it would be horrible to grow up without a dad?" Simba nodded slowly. "Yeah, that must be tough," Mufasa continued. "But you know what's worse?"

"What?"

"To have a father that hates you." Simbas eyes widened.

"Did your father hate you?"

"No, no, he didn't.. Simba, I'd like to ask you a question: do you hate your uncle after everything he did?"

Simba hesitated, but then he said: "Yeah! I've nearly lost you! I hate him! I _hate _him!"

"Well, let me tell you a little story about Scar. Maybe you'll understand then why he did that and why I didn't punish him 'appropriately'."


	2. Chapter 2

**HORNBILL! THAT was the word I was searching for day and night xD I knew it was "Hornschnabel" in German, but I couldn't find the English "version"- thanks :D And thank you so much for your reviews- if you have anything to criticize, please tell me, it would help me a lot :) **

_In this story I want to tell you, Simba, your uncle Scar and me are cubs. Did you know that his name was Taka before he got the scar?_

_**Really?**_

_Yes. It means "dirt". You can tell just by the name our father Ahadi had given to him that our parents didn't like your uncle very much. _

_**Why? Did he get up to something? **_

_No. They hated him for no reason. _

_**Oh my god...that sounds horrible! **_

_It gets worse, Simba. Taka had no one to play or to talk with. He was alone. _

_Listen to the story..._

I remember a rainy day. There was also a thunder storm, and a few trees had snapped.

On that day Taka was born. I wasn't allowed to go into the cave where my mother Uru was just giving birth to my sibling, so I sat in the cave under the Pride Rock. A few lionesses from the pride were there to look after me.

I was nervous. Was mother okay? Her moaning and roaring could be heard up to here, it sounded like she was getting mauled.

Then, finally, my father Ahadi came down to the cave. He looked serious, and for one moment I thought something had happened to Uru or my new sib, but he just said: "Would you like to meet your new brother?"

I felt relief, happyness and concern overcoming me at the same time.

My brother- I had a brother! And he seemed to be okay. But how was mom?

As if he had read my thoughts, Ahadi said: "Don't worry, they are okay; both of them! Come on."

Then he left the cage. I didn't follow him right away because I was a little woozy from all the emotions at that moment, but when my legs finally obeyed again, I ran outside and even overtook my father on the way up to the Pride Rock.

The first thing I saw when I entered the cave was my mother lying on the floor. She seemed exhausted and, just like her mate, grievous.

"Are you okay, mom?", I asked.

Of course Ahadi had told me that she was fine, but I had doubts when I saw her.

"Mufasa!" She smiled . "Son, come here."

"But not too close," I heard my father saying. The comment made me frown- why shouldn't I go too close?

Was the kid... dangerous or something?

I decided to ignore it because I was just too excited to finally meet my little brother.

"This," Uru said when I looked at the small bundle in her arms, "is Taka."

I was a bit disappointed. So _this _was my little brother. He had brown fur, just like Uru, but it's hue rather looked like dirt.

And he was skinny- very skinny, wiry even.

_You know your uncle Scar, Simba- he eats properly, but he never gains weight. A lion is not supposed to look like that, especially not when it's the son of the king. That was why my parents were so serious- they just knew that Taka would never be a good king. _

_**So they gave up on him right after his birth? **_

_That's not all. Like I said, there was a thunder storm, and the lighting stroke in one of the trees. It was just a very small fire and not even close to the Pride Rock, but Ahadi saw it as a bad sign, a prophecy that told him that Taka was a bad omen. _

_**They... they accused him of that fire? But he was only a **_**cub! **_**A **_**newborn **_**cub! **_

_My parents never treated Taka fairly. They accused him of _everything. _When Ahadi had said "_But not too close" _he was worried that Taka's presence alone could overwhelm me with bad luck. Well, back to the story..._

A few months had passed and Taka was able to go outside and play with us now. Us... that was me, Sarafina and Sarabi.

_**Mom? **_

_Yes, we used to spend lots of time together before we got you... just like you and Nala!_

_**Ew, dad! Nala and me are just...**_

...friends! Gross, like I and Sarabi would ever get together!" I made a disgusted face after I had heard the great _news _that our parents were already planning our marriage.

"Come on, Muffy," my little brother said indulgently. "Why don't you marry right now? I would love to be an uncle!"

For a cub, he was still unbelievably skinny. There was no baby fat or muscles or something like that, and his oversized green eyes and big paws underlined that flaw.

"Aw, breeze off, kiddo!", I snapped.

My father made it obvious how much he disliked Taka, and my father was very wise- so I disliked Taka too.

I had always hoped that I would get a brother who was just as strong as me, someone who I could playfully fight with, a worthy adversary- not... _this. _

I had tried to play with him once, but I nearly broke all of his bones when I pinned him down to the ground.

"Young prince," Zuzu, Ahadi's majordomo, scolded. "Watch your language and apologize to your brother right away!"

"Sorry," I murmured with a sarcastic inflection.

"It's okay," Taka said naively- he was too young to understand sarcasm.

"What an idiot," Sarabi said, rolling her eyes.

I didn't feel any need to defend my little brother- the young lioness was right.

Zuzu only sighed. Scolding the two cubs was pointless.

"Anyway," she said. "It doesn't have to be Sarabi, Mufasa. Youre the prince and you can decide who to mate with. I just think that you two are just made for each other."

"Yeah, whatever," I scoffed with smug grin. "And what's next? Taka manages to beat me in a fight? Don't make me laugh!"

"I could beat you anytime!", Taka exclaimed, causing Sarabi and me to burst out laughing.

"That's so cute! I have to tell this Sarafina!", Sarabi said lying on the ground while I jumped at my brother and pinned him down.  
This time I didn't even flinch when I heard his bones crunching.

"Really?"

"That's not fair! I wasn't prepared for that!", Taka whined.

"Suure, if I was you at the moment I would say that, too," I grinned.

"Get off him!", Zuzu lessoned him.

I obeyed. "Alright, this wasn't really fun anyway- it's just too easy to annoy you, Taka."

I noticed my brother's hurt expression, but didn't bother to apologize or cheer him up- I just kept on playing with Sarabi.

_**Dad? Why were you so mean to uncle Scar? **_

_Oh, Simba... I wasn't a good cub like you. I thought my father had a point in hating Taka, I believed everything he said. And your uncle... he was just such an easy target, you know? I'm so sorry for everything I did to him... You remember the day when I showed you the Pride Land? How I explained how to be a good king? _

_**What has that got to do with anything?**_

_It's important for the story. Our father did that with us on the day after I had teased Taka- it's a tradition to show the future king or queen the land they will reign once. If it wasn't for that tradition, Ahadi wouldn't even have taken Taka with him. _

"Wow... this will be mine one day?"

"Yes, Mufasa. Everything the light touches," Ahadi said with a tender smile at me.

I was so excited. The view we had from this ledge was breathtaking.

"Father," Taka spoke up, "is a king really allowed to do anything he wants?"

"Why do _you _want to know that?", Ahadi snarled. "You will never be king!"

Once again I saw that hurt expression on my brother's face, and again I didn't care- one second later it was gone anyway.

"Now listen attentively," Ahadi said, ignoring his younger son. "Do you see the shadowy place behind the boundaries?"

Taka and I nodded, curiously.

"We call it the 'elephant graveyard'. You must never go there- there are dark creatures who would even eat cubs like you."

"What creatures?", I asked with awakening interest.

Ahadi sighed. "You don't need to know that yet. Once youre king, you will have to handle those 'creatures' more often than you want."

"But if I will never be king," Taka said defiantly, "why don't you tell me then?"

"That's none of your beeswax!", Ahadi snapped and Taka hang his head in shame.

After we were dismissed I asked: "What do you think are those creatures?"

"I don't know," Taka answered. "But it sounds scary."

I rolled my eyes. "You are such a little sissy!"

Taka wanted to defend himself when we heard Sarabi and Sarafina approaching us.

"Hey, how was it? Did your father show you the Pride Land?", Sarabi asked.

"Yes. And everything will be _mine _one day," I said proudly.

"Except the elefant graveyard," Taka corrected me.

"You mean that shadowy part behind the boundaries?" This time Sarafina had spoken. She was a cute little girl with huge green eyes and bright sandy fur.

"Yeah, but dad told us to stay away from there because there are some kind of cub-devouring creatures," Mufasa murmured.

"Nonsense!" Sarabi shook her head. "Our parents just keep telling us stuff like this because they don't want us to go there and get out of there sight. They just want to keep an eye on us whenever they can."

"So... those creatures don't even exist?", Taka asked hopefully.

"Of course not!", Sarabi answered, but I silenced her with a sly gaze and quickly said:

"Maybe they do! I couldn't sleep last night, and I think I've heard something- it sounded like growling, but it was definetely not a lion."

"So you think that...?"

"Yeah. They come here at night and search for their next victim. Sometimes it's a brave, strong warrior like me, but it's more likely that they pick the weakest pack member."

"Stop it!", Sarafina scolded, looking at the horrified Taka.

"Youre such a spoilsport!", Sarabi scoffed, nudging her friend lightly with her nose. "And Muffy... youre brother is a mouse. Look at him! No wonder that Ahadi doesn't want him to be king."

Taka looked to the ground with shame, but I didn't feel any pity for him. "

While we're on the subject mice," I simply said, feeling my stomach growling, "I'm hungry! Let's go hunt something."

"Sure. Wanna come with us, Sarafina?"

I looked at the young lioness who was just licking Taka's right cheek encouragenly. "Um... no, I'm not very hungry."

"Your loss!", I said, and after a little hesitating I added: "Have _fun _with Taka." and suggestively perked my eyebrows up.

I saw Sarafina rolling her eyes before I turned away, and I heard a few pieces of the following conversation.

"Why are they always so mean to me?"

"They just think they're better than you."

"Are they?"

"No."

"Do you like me, Sarafina? Are we... friends?"

Silence.

I could practically hear Sarafina looking around for any listeners before she said, still a little halting:

"Yes, Taka. We are friends."

_**That was really mean, dad... but I'm still not sure if I can forgive uncle Scar. **_

_It wasn't the end of the story yet, Simba. It gets worse. _

_**Will you tell me how he got the scar?**_

_Be patient, son. We will get to this point. _


End file.
